Newsfile: May 2

Ganguly fined: Pune Warriors captain Sourav Ganguly has been fined for his team’s slow over-rate in their match against Deccan Chargers on Tuesday. According to an IPL media release, Warriors were nine balls behind the required rate after taking into consideration various interruptions and allowances. Since it was Ganguly’s first such offence, as per the IPL’s code of conduct stipulations, he was fined $20,000.

Sehwag first to five consecutive fifties: Virender Sehwag’s 73 off 38 balls to help Delhi Daredevils beat Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Tuesday was his fifth consecutive half-century in the tournament. And that’s a record – no other batsman has ever scored five fifties in a row in all Twenty20 cricket. While the compliments poured in from most quarters, the most insightful came from Kolkata Knight Riders’ spinner, Sunil Narine. In an interview with IPLT20.com, he said it was Sehwag who picked his variations, including his ‘mystery’ delivery, the knuckle ball, best of all.

David Hussey looking to ‘nullify’ RCB batting: Kings XI Punjab take on Royal Challengers Bangalore tonight, and a win here for either side will put them into the top four. Kings XI are coming off an away victory over Chennai Super Kings and in their bid to repeat that performance in Bangalore, stand-in captain David Hussey said they’ll be wary of the hosts’ batsmen. “We have got our eyes on a couple of players. Chris Gayle obviously. Virat Kohli is probably the best Indian batsman at the moment. Then, AB de Villiers too,” Hussey told Deccan Herald. “These are three big wickets, and if all our training comes good, we can probably nullify their impact on the game.”

Gambhir not concerned by Yusuf’s poor show: Yusuf Pathan’s lack of impact for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2012 has been a topic for much debate. He has play nine of the team’s ten games, averaging 6.85 with the bat and 116 with the ball. But his captain, Gautam Gambhir, has said he is not worried by this. “We're not thinking about his [Yusuf’s] form. He's a big-match player, and hopefully, he can turn it around. It's only a matter of time before he starts hitting the ball well,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by PTI. “[For now], if we're winning [even] without him contributing much, it's a good sign for the team.